


Plan of Attack

by JohnAmendAll



Category: Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2014-11-10
Packaged: 2018-02-24 19:12:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2593043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnAmendAll/pseuds/JohnAmendAll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How to recover another lost piece of chronosteel? Rani has an idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Plan of Attack

**Author's Note:**

> Those familiar with the Unconventional Courtship prompt list will perhaps recognise prompt 128 ('Unmasking Miss Lacey') as an inspiration for this ficlet.

The woods were chilly, dark and damp. Huddled morosely over an exiguous fire, Clyde was not in a good mood.

"That bloke in the shop really needs to keep an eye on his stock," he grumbled. "Seems every time we go near the place he's had some insanely dangerous artefact nicked. And who's he send into history to get it, every time?"

"You don't know it's always us he sends," Rani said. She cautiously placed another branch on the fire.

"If he doesn't, that means he's even worse at hanging onto stuff, doesn't it? Seriously, if I was that parrot I'd sack him and get someone who knew what they were doing."

"Be careful what you wish for. Maybe the parrot'd pick you, and you'd be doing this full time." Rani shivered, and pulled her coat tighter. "I hope that Earl gets a move on. The sooner we can get that chronostuff off him, the sooner we can get back to the twenty-first century and get something to eat."

"'Get that chronostuff off him,'" Clyde repeated. "Sounds really easy, doesn't it, when you put it like that? 'Oh, sorry, your lordship, can we search you in case you've got something that could be disguised as anything metal?' He'd have his footmen thrash us. And probably have me locked up as an escaped slave."

"Well, we'd better think of something." Rani got to her feet. "I'm starving — I'll see if I can find some berries or something. Can I borrow your torch?"

"Here." Clyde tossed the slender cylinder to her. "Take care."

"Of course. See if you can come up with a plan by the time I come back."

She disappeared between the trees. For a few minutes the beam of the torch could be seen, but then it was lost to view. Clyde bent over the fire, trying vainly to coax flame from damp wood and leaves.

Something hard and metallic was pressed against his back.

"Stand and deliver!" a hoarse voice croaked. "Stay where you are, boy. Hands in the air."

Clyde stiffened, and raised his hands, to be met with the sound of Rani's laughter.

"I really had you going there, didn't I?" she said, walking around the fire. She held out a handful of blackberries. "Want one?"

"Stop mucking around, Rani. I'm not in the mood for it."

"I'm not mucking around." Rani helped herself to a blackberry. "You really thought I was a highwayman, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Right. So that's what I'll do when the Earl comes by. I stick him up, grab his gun or whatever, and search him for valuables. You hide in the trees and if there's any trouble, I'll call you."

Clyde looked dubious. "I hate this plan. You'll get yourself killed. Why can't I be the one that holds him up?"

"You'd be in a lot more danger than I would. Like you said, he might think you're an escaped slave or something. But if he catches me... well, you know what happens in books whenever a highwayman turns out to be a girl in disguise."

"Specially if she's an exotic foreign beauty," Clyde said. "Those are books. Things like that don't happen in real life."

"Says the boy two hundred years in his own past." Rani suddenly put a finger to her lips. "I can hear horses. That's got to be the Earl coming now."

"Right." Clyde squared his shoulders. "We'd better get going, then."

Rani kicked dirt onto the fire, extinguishing it with pitiful ease. "Ready when you are. Oh, and thanks."

"Thanks for what?"

"'Exotic foreign beauty.'" Rani gave him a teasing smile. "Nice to know you think of me like that."


End file.
